For the past year, we've been focusing on the transformation of the United Way of South Niagara and the new priority areas of focus: poverty to possibility; healthy people, strong communities; and kids and families being all they can be.
For the upcoming campaign and into the future, the United Way of South Niagara (UWSN) will support initiatives that address issues within each of the priority areas, including those which reduce poverty or increase the assets for families in South Niagara; increase access to social and health-related services; and support healthy child and youth development as well as family cohesion.
While this is a new focus for the UWSN, it isn't a new mandate for us. We have a long history of funding possibilities, hope and change.
Living in poverty, struggling just to pay the rent and buy groceries, can certainly give you a sense the future is very, very limited. But through UWSN funded agencies and programs, such as The Hope Centre, there is a way to move from poverty to possibilities.
Take Dave and Sharon Compton, a typical married couple living in their own home while Dave worked on the ships making a good living. They never imagined they would be homeless.
A single moment which left Dave injured and unable to work, followed by a move to Quebec for a job that never materialized, left the couple homeless, moving from shelter to shelter and without much possibility for the future.
That is until they arrived at Hope House in Welland. They were provided with a place to live, assistance in finding housing and access to programs at The Hope Centre which connected them with other community resources.
Today Sharon is attending Father Fogarty Adult Learning Centre and Dave volunteers in The Hope Centre food bank. They are also involved with a local church. Their lives are back on track.
Health and wellness isn't only about physical health. Building strong communities takes citizens who are healthy, and happy, in all areas of their lives.
It's how Big Brothers Big Sisters, which receives funding from the UWSN, helps young people grow up strong and healthy.
Fred Farnham, a mentor with Big Brothers, explains how finding a balance with the young people he mentors helps them grow strong and succeed.
"Early visits found me a fit 77-year-old struggling with Sam's energy," says Farnham of the first young man he mentored, noting once he found a balance for Sam's energy with some academic work, the young man was motivated to succeed.
Now 83, Farnham is working with another young man who has seen his confidence grow through the Big Brothers program.
Through the Go Girls! program at Big Brothers Big Sisters Amanda McIntyre has witnessed how the program has made the transition of adolescence a little easier for young women.
"Each session would bring about a new topic, such as body image or peer pressure ... it was from these children I heard the most thoughtful insights," said McIntyre of the group discussions, attributing the girls' grace and honesty to the fact they were in a safe place free of judgement.
"We, as leaders, fostered independent thinking and open communication," said McIntyre of a program that helped young women grow up to be strong women.
Without a high school diploma or college education, many teen moms find themselves held back from living their full potential.
It's an issue addressed by the Young Mom's Outreach Program, offered through Adolescent Family Support Services of Niagara, another United Way funded agency.
Natasha Smagata knows full well the impact that program can have on a young mom, and her family.
"I always wanted to, I hoped I would have," says Natasha of completing her education, noting without that outreach program she can't be sure she ever would have finished school.
Now, not only a high school grad but a college graduate with a full-time position with Region of Niagara, Natasha says "absolutely" the program helped her be all that she can be.
"I already see it affecting my girls," she says of her daughters, Malary, 8, and Mataya, 5. "We're taking steps together," says Natasha of her family. "We're learning and growing together."
The 25-year-old says she started the path to get her education to give her daughters a better future and to be a better role model. "I talk to them about education," says Natasha.
Her hope, she says, is that her hard work to finish school and provide a better future for the girls will help them realize their own potential as they grow.
Natasha, and all of the other people who have succeeded thanks, in part, to funding from the United Way of South Niagara, know that change starts here, and it starts with you.
Dolores Fabiano is the communications committee chair for the United Way of South Niagara.
Originally published in the Welland Tribune.
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